What mattered in the last day or two — from PIB, The Hindu and The Indian Express, written in our own words — then 21 questions in UPSC's formats. +2 for a right answer, −0.67 for a wrong one, 0 for a blank.
1. Core Industries Index grows 7.9% in September 2026 (Base 2022-23)
The Index of Core Industries rose 7.9% year-on-year in September 2026, faster than August's revised 5.9%, led by iron ore, electricity, coal and refinery products; fertilizers, natural gas and crude oil contracted.
ICI grew 7.9% YoY in September 2026 (provisional); August 2026 final growth was 5.9%, revised up from a provisional 4.8% (index 119.2 to 120.4).
Sector growth in September 2026: iron ore 18.4%, electricity 11.4%, coal 10.7%, refinery products 10.3%, cement 9.8%, steel 4.9%.
Fertilizers (-11.7%), natural gas (-4.6%) and crude oil (-1.4%) shrank YoY.
Cumulative April-September 2026 growth was 5.1%, against 2.5% a year earlier.
Base year is 2022-23. Electricity (30.9) and refinery products (22.6) carry the largest weights; the provisional index comes out on the 20th of the following month, and the October 2026 data is due on 20 November 2026.
Key terms
Index of Core Industries (ICI)
— A production-volume index of key infrastructure and industrial sectors that gives a quick read on industrial performance.
Base year 2022-23
— The reference year, set at 100, against which the current index levels are measured.
Year-on-year (YoY) growth
— Change in a month's value compared with the same month a year earlier, which removes seasonal effects.
Provisional vs final index
— The first estimate is released with limited data and later revised when fuller data arrive.
2. SIMBEX-2026: 33rd India-Singapore Naval Exercise Begins at Visakhapatnam
The Indian Navy and Republic of Singapore Navy began the 33rd SIMBEX at Visakhapatnam (21-26 Oct 2026), strengthening interoperability and Indo-Pacific maritime security cooperation.
3. CAQM invokes GRAP Stage-I across Delhi-NCR as AQI turns 'Poor'
After Delhi's daily AQI reached 244-245 ('Poor'), CAQM's GRAP Sub-Committee brought into force all 25 Stage-I measures across the entire NCR immediately, to stop air quality worsening.
Delhi's daily average AQI was 244 at 2 PM and 245 at 4 PM on 21 Oct 2026, per the CPCB bulletin ('Poor' band is 201-300).
The CAQM Sub-Committee on GRAP invoked all 25 action points of Stage-I with immediate effect in the whole NCR.
The decision drew on IMD/IITM weather forecasts as well as the AQI situation.
Stage-I covers dust control at construction and demolition (C&D) sites, a ban on open burning, PUC enforcement, industry and power plant emission norms, and regulated diesel generator (DG) use.
C&D projects with plot size of 500 sq m or more must be registered on the state/GNCTD web portal, or they are not permitted to operate.
Key terms
GRAP
— Graded Response Action Plan: stage-wise pollution-control measures activated according to Delhi's AQI category.
CAQM
— Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas, the statutory body coordinating air pollution control across the region.
AQI 'Poor'
— Air Quality Index band of 201-300, which triggers GRAP Stage-I.
C&D waste
— Construction and demolition waste, a major source of dust that must be stored covered and transported in covered vehicles.
PUC norms
— Pollution Under Control certification checks on vehicle emissions.
4. India hosts Agrivoltaics World Conference 2026, first in Global South
Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and MNRE Minister Pralhad Joshi opened a three-day global conference on agrivoltaics, which combines solar generation with farming on the same land.
Agrivoltaics World Conference 2026 was inaugurated jointly by the Agriculture and New & Renewable Energy Ministers; it is the first such conference held in the Global South.
Non-fossil installed electricity capacity is 308.03 GW, over 55% of India's total of about 560 GW.
A TERI study puts 47.5 million hectares (about 30% of 160 million hectares of cropland) as technically suitable for agrivoltaics; Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh hold nearly 50% of the potential.
Decentralised solar additions last year were 16.3 GW: 7.6 GW under PM-KUSUM and 8.7 GW rooftop, mainly under PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana (over 63 lakh beneficiaries).
Next phase of PM-KUSUM will carry an ambitious agrivoltaic programme; the guiding slogan is 'One land, two harvests'.
Key terms
Agrivoltaics
— Generating solar power from panels mounted above farmland while crops continue to be grown below.
PM-KUSUM
— Scheme supporting decentralised solar plants, standalone solar pumps and solarisation of grid-connected agricultural pumps, including feeder-level solarisation.
PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana
— Rooftop solar scheme that has driven most of India's rooftop solar capacity addition.
Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO)
— Collective of farmers organised to improve their bargaining power, access to inputs and markets.
Technical potential
— Maximum capacity physically possible given suitable land, before considering economic and practical limits.
5. UNEP Emissions Gap Report 2026: Cuts Needed to Return to 1.5°C
UNEP's Emissions Gap Report 2026 says warming will overshoot 1.5°C, and only steep, immediate emission cuts can limit the overshoot and bring temperatures back to 1.5°C by 2100.
Report: 'Emissions Gap Report 2026: The Point of Return', released by UNEP.
'Lowest possible' overshoot pathway: peak warming of about 1.7-1.8°C near mid-century, then a return to 1.5°C or below by 2100 with roughly 50% chance.
Required cuts versus 2025 levels: 18% by 2030, 45% by 2035 and 69% by 2040.
Current policies point to about 2.8°C of warming this century; full delivery of NDCs gives about 2.6°C.
Even NDCs plus extra net-zero targets would only limit warming to about 2.1°C; new NDCs since last year's report made a negligible difference.
Key terms
Overshoot
— Temporarily exceeding a temperature limit such as 1.5°C before bringing warming back below it.
Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)
— Climate action plans each Paris Agreement party submits every five years, each more ambitious than the previous.
Emissions Gap
— The shortfall between projected emissions under current pledges and the levels needed to meet Paris temperature goals.
Emission intensity
— Greenhouse gas emissions per unit of economic output (GDP).
6. 7th AgriVoltaics World Conference: Chouhan Pitches Farmers as 'Urjadatas'
At the 7th AgriVoltaics World Conference in New Delhi, the Agriculture Minister said solar-above, crops-below farming must be built around small farmers, who make up most of India's farm households.
The 3-day 7th AgriVoltaics World Conference was inaugurated at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, on 21 Oct 2026; Shivraj Singh Chouhan gave the keynote.
AgriVoltaics means solar panels generate power overhead while crops grow beneath them on the same land.
Chouhan's goal: farmers as both 'annadatas' (food providers) and 'urjadatas' (energy providers).
Figures cited: average landholding 0.96 ha; over 85% of farmers are small and marginal; agricultural growth 4.5%; agri exports a record US$52.55 billion.
The Agriculture Ministry will coordinate with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (Pralhad Joshi) on the initiative.
Key terms
AgriVoltaics
— Co-locating solar power generation and crop cultivation on the same land.
Annadata and Urjadata
— Food provider and energy provider; the idea that farmers can supply both.
Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO)
— A collective of farmers that can take part in the initiative and give members bargaining power.
Small and marginal farmers
— Farmers with little land, over 85% of the total in India, for whom the policy must work.
7. IBSAMAR IX 2026 concludes at Simon's Town, South Africa
The ninth India-Brazil-South Africa naval exercise ended after ten days of harbour and sea phases, building interoperability among the three navies and backing a rules-based maritime order.
8. MoD signs ₹770 crore deal with BEL for LLLR-I radars
The Defence Ministry contracted Bharat Electronics Limited to supply Improved Low Level Light Weight Radars to the Army, strengthening detection of low-flying aircraft and small drones while promoting indigenous air defence manufacturing.
9. Untouchability and the Idea of 'Purity': The Haldwani Ritual
A 'purification' ritual at a Haldwani venue after Mallikarjun Kharge's rally raises the question of whether post-use purification counts as untouchability under Article 17 and the Protection of Civil Rights Act.
Article 17 abolishes 'untouchability', forbids its practice in any form and makes enforcing any disability arising from it a punishable offence; the Constitution does not define the term.
The Untouchability (Offences) Act, 1955 was amended and renamed the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 in 1976; Section 7(1)(d) punishes insulting an SC member on the ground of 'untouchability'.
Sukanya Shantha v Union of India (2024): the Supreme Court struck down caste-discriminatory prison manual provisions and held that no stigma can attach to anyone's existence, touch or presence.
Surya Narayan Choudhary v State of Rajasthan (1988): the Rajasthan High Court held that purification of Dalit devotees as a condition for temple entry violates Articles 14, 15 and 17.
The SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 is separate; Section 3(1)(r) covers intentional insult or intimidation in public view by a non-SC/ST person.
Key terms
Article 17
— Constitutional provision abolishing untouchability and making its practice in any form punishable.
Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955
— Law (renamed in 1976) punishing preaching and practice of untouchability and enforcement of disabilities arising from it.
Purity and pollution
— Caste-based notion that certain people's touch or presence defiles, used to uphold hierarchy; rejected by Article 17.
SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989
— Special law creating separate offences against atrocities on Scheduled Castes and Tribes, including public insult with intent to humiliate.
Horizontal application of rights
— Enforcement of a fundamental right against private persons, as with Article 17.
10. Ladakh dissolves Kargil hill council, announces panchayat polls on November 21
After creating six new districts, Ladakh dissolved LAHDC-Kargil, notified 100 constituencies for eight hill councils and announced panchayat elections for November 21, 2026, even as talks on statehood and Sixth Schedule continue.
LAHDC-Kargil dissolved with immediate effect after district reorganisation; its 2023 election was won by the NC-Congress alliance (24 seats), and its term would have ended in 2028.
The Ladakh State Election Commission proposes panchayat general elections on November 21, 2026; nominations close November 2 and the Model Code of Conduct is in force.
LAHDC (Amendment) Regulation, 2026 raises the number of councillors from 52 to 100.
The Centre has proposed inserting Article 371-K to give Ladakh a directly elected legislative body.
Key terms
LAHDC
— Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, an elected body with local governance powers in a Ladakh district.
Sixth Schedule
— Constitutional provision for autonomous councils in tribal areas, a status Ladakh groups are demanding.
Article 371-K
— Proposed new constitutional article to provide Ladakh with a directly elected legislative body.
Model Code of Conduct
— Election Commission guidelines for parties and governments that apply from the announcement of polls.
Panchayat halqa
— Territorial unit of a panchayat, used here as a base for delimiting constituencies.
11. CERT-In advisory on agentic AI exposes India's cyber detection gaps
A CERT-In advisory flags AI agents overstepping limits in testing and misuse of open-source agentic tools by attackers; the editorial argues India must improve breach detection, accountability and legal safeguards.
CERT-In's advisory names two threats: AI agents exceeding their authorised limits during testing, and bad actors using open-source agentic AI tools for automated reconnaissance and exploitation.
The breaches behind the advisory were not found by the victim organisations; they surfaced through AI companies' disclosures and CERT-In's own operations.
CERT-In recorded or received reports of 29.4 lakh incidents in 2025.
Organisations must report an intrusion to CERT-In within six hours.
The DPDP Act is to be enforced from 2027, with heavy penalties for entities lacking reasonable safeguards against breaches.
Key terms
CERT-In
— The Computer Emergency Response Team, India's national agency for tracking, responding to and advising on cybersecurity incidents.
Agentic AI
— AI systems that act autonomously to pursue goals, including taking actions in real systems, rather than just answering prompts.
DPDP Act
— India's data protection law, which requires reasonable safeguards against breaches and imposes steep penalties for failures.
Safe harbour for security research
— Legal protection for researchers who probe systems for vulnerabilities in good faith.
12. Great Nicobar project: environmental costs under debate in Chennai talk
A Chennai discussion on Pankaj Sekhsaria's new book revisits the ₹92,000 crore–₹1 lakh crore Great Nicobar mega-project, flagging its ecological, tribal-rights and seismic risks.
The project combines a transshipment port, an international airport, a power plant and a township on Great Nicobar Island, with an estimated cost of up to ₹1 lakh crore.
Indigenous communities of the island are the Shompen and the Nicobarese, who have lived there for thousands of years.
The island is a major nesting site for leatherback sea turtles in the north-eastern Indian Ocean, and has endemic species such as the Great Nicobar serpent eagle, Nicobar parakeet and Nicobar megapode.
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake made parts of the island sink by up to about 15 feet.
Independent scientists estimate that 3 to 10 million old-growth trees could be felled for the project.
Key terms
Transshipment port
— A port where cargo is moved from one ship to another en route to its final destination, acting as a hub.
Endemic species
— Species found only in a particular region and nowhere else.
Shompen
— An indigenous community of Great Nicobar, among the most isolated peoples in the world.
Environmental clearance
— Prior regulatory approval for a project after assessing its environmental impact.
13. WHO report maps inequality in non-communicable disease burden worldwide
WHO's largest study of health inequality in NCDs finds that education, income, residence, gender and migrant or disability status shape who gets sick and who receives care, and urges equity-focused policy.
NCDs cause about three-quarters of deaths globally and make up eight of the top 10 causes of death; cardiovascular disease kills almost 20 million people a year.
The study covered four major NCDs (cancer, cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes) and risk factors such as tobacco, alcohol, obesity, unhealthy diets, physical inactivity and air pollution.
It used national data from 2013 to 2022 and was described by WHO's health inequality monitoring team (led by Ahmad Reza Hosseinpoor) as the first systematic global measurement of NCD inequalities.
Inequalities were examined by age, gender, economic status, education, place of residence, disability, employment and migration status.
WHO urged higher health taxes on tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks, tailored insurance or subsidies for under-served groups, and inclusion of inequality indicators in national health systems.
Key terms
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs)
— Chronic, non-infectious diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease and diabetes.
Health inequality
— Systematic differences in health outcomes or access to care between population groups, for example by income, education or residence.
Health taxes
— Higher taxes on products such as tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks to reduce consumption and fund health.
Hypertension
— Persistently high blood pressure, a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, often undiagnosed.
14. Haryana grants first private parallel power distribution licence for Gurugram, Nuh
HERC gave Eleven Power Pvt Ltd a 25-year parallel distribution licence for Gurugram and Nuh, bringing competition to state-run DISCOMs but raising worries about duplicated networks, fixed-cost recovery and cross-subsidies.
Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) granted a 25-year parallel distribution licence to Eleven Power Pvt Ltd for Gurugram and Nuh districts.
Legal basis: sixth proviso to Section 14 of the Electricity Act, 2003, which lets a regulator license two or more distributors, each with its own network, in the same area.
Incumbents are the state-owned UHBVN and DHBVN; this is the first private distributor in Haryana and the second parallel-licence case in India after Mumbai (Tata Power, BEST, Adani Electricity).
Planned capital investment is Rs 4,717 crore over 2026-27 to 2030-31; the company is 99.99% owned by SAS Fininvest LLP, the investment arm of Eleven Group.
The Haryana government opposes the order and plans to appeal to the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity, the statutory appellate body under the 2003 Act.
Key terms
Parallel distribution licence
— Permission for more than one distributor to supply electricity through separate networks in the same area, under the sixth proviso to Section 14 of the Electricity Act, 2003.
DISCOM
— Distribution company that buys power and supplies it to end consumers; in Haryana, UHBVN and DHBVN are state-owned.
Annual Revenue Requirement (ARR)
— Total revenue a utility is expected to recover in a financial year to meet its operating and capital expenditure.
Cross-subsidy
— Charging commercial and industrial consumers higher tariffs to keep power cheaper for other categories.
Appellate Tribunal for Electricity
— Statutory body under the Electricity Act, 2003 that hears appeals against regulatory commission orders.
NHPC has applied to divert 3,278 ha of dense Arunachal forest for the 1,720 MW Kamala project, with compensatory afforestation proposed in Madhya Pradesh, raising questions about ecological costs versus hydropower gains.
NHPC seeks diversion of 3,278 ha of forest in Kra Daadi, Kurung Kumey and Kamle districts for the 1,720 MW Kamala project on the Kamala River, a right-bank tributary of the Subansiri.
The Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Environment Ministry will appraise the proposal on October 23; 23,40,213 trees are marked for felling.
Compensatory afforestation is proposed over 7,018 ha in Madhya Pradesh, since Arunachal already has high forest cover.
The Rs 2,400-crore run-of-the-river cum storage project has a 216-metre concrete gravity dam and affects 5,440 families in 126 villages.
The expert panel on river valley projects recommended environmental clearance in January, with final EC only after in-principle forest clearance.
Key terms
Forest Advisory Committee (FAC)
— Environment Ministry committee that appraises and grants prior approval for diverting forest land for non-forest work.
Compensatory afforestation
— Planting trees on non-forest or degraded land to offset forest land diverted for projects.
Run-of-the-river cum storage project
— A hydel design that uses river flow with some reservoir storage to regulate generation.
Environmental clearance (EC)
— Approval from the Environment Ministry, after expert panel appraisal, needed before a project proceeds.
Social Impact Assessment
— Study of how a project affects the families and villages in its area.
16. Mecca Joint Defence Agreement text out: Pakistan's role in West Asia
The full 16-article text of the Pakistan–Saudi Arabia–Turkey Mecca Joint Defence Agreement shows it stresses joint capacity building over a NATO-style binding military response, and positions Pakistan as a bridge in West Asia's emerging…
Mecca Joint Defence Agreement (MJDA): signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey; Turkey submitted it to its Parliament for ratification on October 20, which made the 16-article text public.
Article 2 says an attack on one is an attack on all, with parties to assist 'by all means they can provide' but without specifying armed force.
Article 3 shifts focus to cooperation in defence, the defence industry and security; Article 7 covers technology sharing, joint development and joint production.
The three are 'core parties' bound for 10 years, and the pact leaves room for more members.
Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey and Indonesia signed a separate military cooperation agreement on October 21.
Key terms
Attack on one is an attack on all
— The collective defence principle under which an armed attack on one party is treated as an attack on all.
Interoperability
— The ability of different countries' armed forces to train, operate and fight together.
Coup-proofing
— Structuring military forces, for example with parallel guard units, to reduce the risk of a coup.
Core parties
— The founding signatories bound by the pact for 10 years, with room for others to join.
17. France protests and the economic crisis behind them
Violent youth-led protests in France began over school conditions and grew into anger over living standards, while weak growth, high debt and political instability push the country toward a possible debt crisis.
Official figures put protesters at over 5 lakh, mostly young, with unofficial estimates up to 8 lakh and thousands arrested; the protests began over a month ago with students demanding better school conditions.
IMF has cut France's growth forecasts to 0.4% for 2026 and 0.7% for 2027.
France's per capita GDP rose from $45,754 in 2008 to $51,448 in 2026, under 1% average annual growth.
Fiscal deficit is pegged at 5.4% of GDP, public debt is above 118% of GDP, and government spending is about 57% of GDP.
10-year French bond yields are near 5%, higher than Greece and Italy, and the next presidential election is six months away.
Key terms
Fiscal deficit
— The gap between government's total spending and its revenue excluding borrowing, here 5.4% of France's GDP.
Debt-to-GDP ratio
— Total government debt as a share of annual output, a measure of debt sustainability; France is above 118%.
Bond yield
— The return investors demand for lending to a government; rising yields signal higher perceived risk and borrowing cost.
Eurozone sovereign debt crisis
— The early-2010s crisis in which countries like Greece and Italy struggled to borrow and service their debts.
Youth unemployment
— Share of the young labour force without work; in France it is almost 20%, against about 8% overall.
Trump and Rubio signal an India-US bilateral trade deal is near, after months of stalled talks over tariffs, Russian oil and legal changes in the US; it matters for India's market access and strategic balancing.
Trump said the deal with India would be 'a much different kind of deal' from those the US has signed with others; Rubio said '99% of the work' was done and the two sides were 'weeks, not months' away.
Talks began in February 2025 after PM Modi and Trump agreed to launch negotiations; a framework was agreed in early February this year, with signing expected by March.
The US had imposed 50% tariffs on India (25% reciprocal plus 25% for buying Russian energy); talks revived after India cut Russian oil imports.
A US Supreme Court order in February struck down the President's emergency wartime powers to impose tariffs, prompting India to renegotiate terms.
Trump paused the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, which authorised tariffs up to 100% on top buyers of Russian energy; India is one of the top two destinations for Russian crude.
Key terms
Reciprocal tariffs
— Tariffs a country sets on imports to match the duties other countries levy on its goods.
Bilateral trade agreement
— A pact between two countries to lower trade barriers and set terms for trade in goods and services.
Operation Sindoor
— The Indian operation whose aftermath led to India-Pakistan hostilities and a ceasefire, mentioned here as a cause of strained India-US ties.
Weaponisation of tariffs
— Using tariffs as a tool of political or strategic pressure rather than purely for trade purposes.
19. Amit Shah Sets December 2029 Deadline for Drug-Free India
On Police Commemoration Day, the Home Minister asked police forces to meet the PM's target of a drug-free India by 31 December 2029, and highlighted the end of Naxalism and peaceful elections as policing successes.
Target date for a drug-free India: 31 December 2029, set by PM Modi and reiterated by Home Minister Amit Shah.
Police Commemoration Day (21 October) honours 10 CRPF personnel killed in the 1959 Hot Springs (Ladakh) ambush by Chinese troops, and all police who died on duty.
National Police Memorial in Delhi was inaugurated in 2018; Shah paid tribute there.
'Fight Against Drugs' motorcycle rally of about 90 riders from state police, CAPFs and central organisations (CRPF, CISF, BSF, SSB, ITBP, NSG, RPF, NDRF, NIA) will end at Kevadia, Gujarat, for Ekta Parade 2026.
Shah's figures: over 3,600 security personnel and about 13,700 civilians killed in Naxal violence from 1981 to March 2026.
Key terms
Police Commemoration Day
— Observed on 21 October to honour police personnel who died on duty, especially the 10 CRPF men killed at Hot Springs in 1959.
Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs)
— Central forces such as CRPF, BSF, CISF, SSB and ITBP that guard borders and help maintain internal security.
Naxalism
— Left-wing extremist insurgency; the minister said it was eliminated by 31 March 2026.
CoBRA
— Specialised unit of the CRPF credited in the text for its role in countering insurgency.
Ekta Parade
— Parade of police and paramilitary contingents at Kevadia, Gujarat, which the motorcycle rally will join in 2026.
20. US Secretary of State Rubio: India trade deal 'weeks away', tariffs not aimed at India
On a visit to India, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the bilateral trade deal is nearly done and that US tariffs and visa curbs are not meant to target India, seeking to ease Delhi's concerns.
Marco Rubio said '99% of the work is done' on the India-US trade deal and it is 'weeks, not months' from being finalised.
Talks have run for over a year and a half; the remaining sticking points are about wording and the meaning of certain phrases, not substance, according to Rubio.
The US had threatened up to 100% tariffs on countries importing Russian oil and gas; President Trump announced a waiver last week.
Rubio said visa restrictions aim to fix an unenforced immigration system and are 'not targeted' at India.
He called the Quad an example of strong cooperation turning ideas into action, and said US ties with Pakistan will not come at India's expense.
Key terms
Quad
— A strategic grouping of India, the US, Japan and Australia for Indo-Pacific cooperation; Rubio cited it as a model of practical cooperation.
Secondary tariffs
— Tariffs on countries that trade with a targeted nation (here, buyers of Russian oil and gas), used as a sanctions tool.
Tariff waiver
— An exemption from announced tariffs; Trump announced one on the Russia-oil-linked tariffs last week.
Strategic stability
— The term Rubio used for the US aim of a predictable, non-escalatory relationship with China.
With reference to agrivoltaics as discussed at the AgriVoltaics World Conference 2026 in India, consider the following statements:
1. It involves installing solar panels above agricultural land while allowing crops to continue to grow.
2. It is intended to replace cultivation with solar power generation on marginal land so that farmers earn only from electricity.
3. The principle of "One land, two harvests" describes the approach of earning from both cultivation and electricity generation on the same land.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer: (b)
Agrivoltaics generates solar power from panels installed above farmland while crops continue to grow.
The ministers stressed that models must let farmers keep cultivating instead of replacing farming with solar generation, so statement 2 is wrong.
"One land, two harvests" means income from both crops and electricity on the same land, so statement 3 is correct.
a Omits statement 3, which is correct.
c Statement 2 is wrong because agrivoltaics is not meant to replace farming.
d Includes statement 2, which is wrong, and omits statement 1, which is correct.
With reference to AgriVoltaics, as discussed at the 7th AgriVoltaics World Conference in New Delhi, consider the following statements:
1. It involves installing solar panels so that electricity is generated above the ground while crops continue to be grown beneath them.
2. The model is meant to work on the fields of small and marginal farmers without disrupting agricultural production.
3. The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare alone is responsible for developing the model, with no role for the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer: (d)
AgriVoltaics uses the same land for farming and energy: panels generate power overhead while crops grow below.
The Agriculture Minister stressed that the model must be viable on small and marginal farmers' fields and must not disrupt production.
He assured close coordination between the Agriculture Ministry and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, so statement 3 is wrong.
a Statement 2 is also correct, so '1 only' is incomplete.
b Statement 3 is incorrect, since both ministries are to work together.
c Statement 3 is incorrect because the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is a partner.
Statement-I: Public accountability of CERT-In is considered weak.
Statement-II: CERT-In is exempt from the RTI Act and does not routinely publish postmortem analyses of incidents.
Which one of the following is correct?
Answer: (a)
The editorial notes CERT-In does not routinely publish postmortems and is exempt from the RTI Act.
These two facts directly cause weak public accountability, as stated by 'As a result'.
Hence both statements are correct and II explains I.
b Statement-II is the direct reason for weak accountability, so it does explain Statement-I.
c Statement-II is correct as per the editorial.
d Statement-I is correct; the editorial says public accountability is weak.
Consider the following statements regarding recent developments linked to the India-US trade deal:
1. The Trump administration paused the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, which authorised tariffs of up to 100% on top buyers of Russian energy.
2. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the remaining sticking points were mainly language-related, concerning what certain words and phrases mean.
3. Talks picked up momentum after India reduced its Russian oil imports.
How many of the statements given above are correct?
Answer: (c)
Trump paused the Graham Act, which authorised tariffs up to 100% on top buyers of Russian energy, so statement 1 is correct.
Rubio said the sticking points were language-related, about what words and phrases mean, so statement 2 is correct.
Talks gained momentum after India cut Russian oil imports, so statement 3 is correct.
a All three statements are supported, not just one.
b All three statements are supported, so a count of two undercounts.
d Every statement is consistent with the source, so 'none' is wrong.
Consider the following statements:
Statement-I: The Union Home Minister described the elimination of drug abuse and trafficking by the end of 2029 as a major national priority.
Statement-II: Drug abuse and trafficking undermine the future of coming generations, burden the economy and often provide financial support to organisations with anti-national intentions.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
Answer: (a)
Shah called the December 31, 2029 target for a drug-free India a major national priority.
He justified it by saying drugs harm future generations, burden the economy and fund anti-national organisations.
Statement-II therefore gives the reason for the priority in Statement-I, so it explains it.
b Statement-II is the stated rationale for the priority, so it does explain Statement-I.
c Statement-II is stated by Shah and is correct.
d Statement-I is correct; Shah called the target a major national priority.
With reference to the India-US trade negotiations as discussed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, consider the following statements:
1. He said the trade deal is weeks, not months, away from being finalised.
2. He said the remaining sticking points are mainly about tariff rates on agricultural goods.
3. He said the US tariffs on countries importing Russian oil and gas were meant to punish India.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer: (b)
Rubio said the two sides are "weeks, not months" away from finalising the deal, with 99% of the work done.
He described the remaining issues as language-related, about what certain words and phrases mean, not tariff rates on a particular sector; statement 2 is wrong.
He said none of the tariffs are done to punish or harm India; statement 3 is wrong.
a Statement 2 is wrong: the sticking points were described as language-related, not agricultural tariffs.
c Statements 2 and 3 are altered and contradict what Rubio said.
d Both 2 and 3 are wrong; Rubio denied any intent to punish India.
Consider the following statements about the Index of Core Industries (ICI) for September 2026:
1. The ICI grew by 7.9 per cent year-on-year, higher than the growth in August 2026.
2. Steel recorded the highest year-on-year growth among the core sectors.
3. The cumulative growth of ICI during April-September 2026 was lower than in the corresponding period of the previous year.
How many of the statements given above are correct?
Answer: (a)
Statement 1 is correct: 7.9 per cent in September 2026 against 5.9 per cent (final) in August 2026.
Statement 2 is wrong: Iron Ore grew the fastest at 18.4 per cent, while Steel grew only 4.9 per cent.
Statement 3 is wrong: cumulative growth was 5.1 per cent against 2.5 per cent a year earlier, so it was higher.
Only one statement is correct.
b Only statement 1 is correct; 2 and 3 are altered.
c Statements 2 and 3 are incorrect.
d Statement 1 is correct, so the count is not zero.
With reference to the Emissions Gap Report 2026: The Point of Return, released by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), consider the following statements:
1. It examines an 'overshoot, peak and decline' pathway in which global temperature rise exceeds 1.5°C temporarily and is brought back to or below 1.5°C by 2100.
2. It finds that new NDCs submitted since the previous report have substantially lowered the projected warming.
3. It states that the 1.5°C return pathway requires global greenhouse gas emissions to be cut relative to 2025 levels.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer: (d)
Statement 1 is correct: the report outlines an overshoot, peak and decline pathway that returns warming to 1.5°C by the end of the century.
Statement 3 is correct: the cuts of 18% by 2030, 45% by 2035 and 69% by 2040 are measured against 2025 levels.
Statement 2 is wrong: the report says new NDCs have made only a negligible difference to the projections.
a Statement 2 is incorrect, so including it makes this option wrong.
b Omits statement 3, which is also correct, since the cuts are relative to 2025 levels.
c Statement 2 is incorrect because new NDCs made a negligible difference, not a substantial one.
With reference to the parallel electricity distribution licence granted for Gurugram and Nuh, consider the following statements:
1. The licence was granted by the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission under a proviso to Section 14 of the Electricity Act, 2003.
2. The licensee will be required to create its own distribution network in the area.
3. Appeals against the regulatory order lie before the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer: (d)
The sixth proviso to Section 14 empowers the appropriate regulatory commission (HERC here) to license two or more entities in the same area, each using its own network.
Eleven Power must therefore build its own distribution infrastructure.
Appeals against regulatory orders go to the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity, not the CERC, so statement 3 is wrong.
a Statement 3 is incorrect, so not all three are correct.
b Statement 3 is wrong, and statement 2 is correct, so this pairing fails.
c Statement 3 is wrong because the appellate forum is the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity.
With reference to the Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX), consider the following statements:
1. It began in 1994 as Exercise Lion King and has since expanded in scope and complexity.
2. It is a bilateral engagement between the Indian Navy and the Republic of Singapore Navy.
3. Its Sea Phase is conducted in the Arabian Sea, while its Harbour Phase is held at a port in Singapore.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer: (c)
SIMBEX began in 1994 as Exercise Lion King and has expanded in scope and complexity, so statement 1 is correct.
It is a bilateral maritime exercise between the Indian Navy and the Republic of Singapore Navy, so statement 2 is correct.
The 2026 edition is hosted at Visakhapatnam, with the Sea Phase in the Bay of Bengal, so statement 3 is incorrect.
a Statement 3 is wrong: the Sea Phase is in the Bay of Bengal and the Harbour Phase is at Visakhapatnam.
b Statement 3 is incorrect, so not all three are correct.
d Statement 3 is wrong, and statement 2 is correct but left out.
With reference to the recent administrative changes in Ladakh, consider the following statements:
1. The Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC)-Kargil was dissolved following the reorganisation of districts, and the region's hill councils are to be constituted in all eight districts.
2. The elected constituencies for the councils have been notified under the LAHDC (Amendment) Regulation, 2026, using panchayat halqas and municipal wards as foundational units.
3. Ladakh was made a Union Territory under the Constitution (Sixth Schedule) Act, 2019.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer: (c)
Statement 1 is correct: LAHDC-Kargil was dissolved after the districts were reorganised, and the notified constituencies form the basis for councils in all eight districts.
Statement 2 is correct: the LAHDC (Amendment) Regulation, 2026 notified 100 constituencies based on panchayat halqas and municipal wards.
Statement 3 is wrong: Ladakh became a Union Territory under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, not under a Sixth Schedule Act.
a It includes the incorrect Statement 3 and omits the correct Statement 2.
b Statement 3 wrongly names the Act that created the Union Territory.
d Statement 3 is incorrect, so not all statements are correct.
With reference to the Kamala hydroelectric project proposed in Arunachal Pradesh, consider the following statements:
1. It is proposed on the Kamala River, a right-bank tributary of the Subansiri River, and is conceived as a run-of-the-river cum storage project.
2. Its forest diversion proposal is appraised by the Forest Advisory Committee of the Union Environment Ministry.
3. The Environment Ministry's expert panel has recommended that final Environmental Clearance be granted before in-principle forest clearance.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer: (b)
The Kamala project is on the Kamala River, a right-bank tributary of the Subansiri, and is a run-of-the-river cum storage project; statement 1 is correct.
The Forest Advisory Committee grants prior approval for non-forest work on forest land; statement 2 is correct.
The expert panel's condition was that final EC will be granted only after in-principle forest clearance, so statement 3 reverses the sequence and is wrong.
a Statement 3 reverses the condition; final EC follows in-principle forest clearance.
c Statement 3 is incorrect, so not all three hold.
d Statement 2 is correct, and statement 3 is wrong, so this pairing fails.
With reference to the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) for Delhi-NCR, consider the following statements:
Statement-I: The CAQM Sub-Committee on GRAP invoked Stage-I of GRAP across the entire NCR when Delhi's air quality was in the 'Poor' category (AQI 201-300).
Statement-II: The air quality data used for the Delhi AQI bulletin is provided by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), and the actions are implemented by the agencies concerned in the NCR.
Which one of the following is correct?
Answer: (b)
Stage-I of GRAP was invoked in the entire NCR when Delhi's AQI stayed in the 'Poor' band (201-300), so Statement-I is correct.
The CPCB provides the daily AQI bulletin, and the concerned agencies implement and monitor the actions, so Statement-II is also correct.
Statement-II only describes the data source and the implementers. It does not explain why Stage-I was triggered; the trigger was the AQI falling in the 'Poor' band.
a Statement-II gives the data source and the implementers, not the reason for invoking Stage-I, so it does not explain Statement-I.
c Statement-II is correct: CPCB provides the AQI bulletin and the agencies concerned implement the actions.
d Statement-I is correct: Stage-I was invoked across the NCR for the 'Poor' category.
With reference to Article 17 of the Constitution and its statutory enforcement, consider the following statements:
1. Article 17 abolishes 'untouchability' and defines the term in the Constitution, leaving Parliament to prescribe only the punishment.
2. The Untouchability (Offences) Act, 1955 was substantially amended and renamed the Protection of Civil Rights Act in 1976.
3. The Supreme Court has recognised that Article 17 is enforceable against non-State actors as well.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer: (b)
The Constitution does not define 'untouchability'; statement 1 is therefore wrong.
The 1955 Act was substantially amended and renamed the Protection of Civil Rights Act in 1976.
The Supreme Court has held Article 17 enforceable against non-State actors too.
a Statement 1 is wrong, and statement 2 is correct but left out.
c Statement 1 is wrong because the Constitution does not define untouchability.
d Statement 1 is incorrect, so not all three are correct.
With reference to the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement (MJDA) signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, consider the following statements:
1. Article 2 commits the parties to assist an attacked party with all means of mutual assistance they can provide, without prescribing the use of force as the response.
2. The text lays down a hierarchy of wartime actions that the parties must follow in sequence.
3. Its principal orientation is long-term security sector cooperation, with joint capacity building in both peacetime and wartime.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer: (b)
Article 2 reaffirms 'attack on one is an attack on all' but leaves the means of assistance open and does not bind parties to use force.
The agreement does not lay out a hierarchy of wartime action, so statement 2 is wrong.
Article 3 and the following articles steer the pact towards capacity building in peacetime and wartime, so statement 3 is correct.
a Wrongly accepts statement 2; the pact sets no hierarchy of wartime action, and it omits statement 3.
c Statement 2 is incorrect because the text does not prescribe a sequence of wartime actions.
d Wrongly accepts statement 2 and rejects statement 1, which correctly describes Article 2.
With reference to India's engagement at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), consider the following statements:
Statement-I: India declined to endorse the joint statement at the 2025 SCO Defence Ministers' meeting in Qingdao.
Statement-II: The draft did not reflect India's concerns over cross-border terrorism, including the Pahalgam attack, while it referred to militant activities in Balochistan.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
Answer: (a)
India refused to endorse the joint statement at the 2025 SCO Defence Ministers' meet in Qingdao.
The reason was that the draft omitted India's concerns over cross-border and Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, including Pahalgam, while mentioning Balochistan.
With reference to the economic situation in France as described in the context of the recent protests, consider the following statements:
1. Inflation in France has been higher than in peers such as Germany, Spain, the UK and the US, and is the main cause of public worry.
2. Weak economic growth since the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 and high youth unemployment are key concerns of the protesters.
3. Rising yields on French government 10-year bonds partly reflect investor concern about political instability.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer: (a)
Inflation in France has not been as high as in peers such as Germany, Spain, the UK, Italy, Greece and the US; weak growth and high unemployment are the real worries, so statement 1 is wrong.
Growth has faltered since 2008 and youth unemployment is almost 20%, so statement 2 is correct.
Investors factor political instability into bond yields, so statement 3 is correct.
b Statement 1 is incorrect because French inflation was lower than that of its peers.
c Statement 1 is incorrect, so the three statements cannot all be correct.
d Statement 1 is incorrect, and it also leaves out the correct statements 2 and 3.
With reference to the IBSAMAR Exercise, consider the following statements:
1. It is a trilateral maritime exercise involving the Navies of India, Brazil and South Africa.
2. Its ninth edition (2026) concluded at Simon's Town, South Africa, after harbour and sea phases.
3. It is conducted under the aegis of BRICS, with Russia and China as regular participants.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer: (d)
IBSAMAR is a trilateral exercise among the Indian, Brazilian and South African Navies; the ninth edition concluded at Simon's Town after harbour and sea phases.
Statement 3 is incorrect: it is a trilateral exercise of the three navies, not a BRICS exercise with Russia and China.
a Statement 3 is wrong, so not all are correct.
b Statement 3 is wrong, so any option including it fails.
c Statement 3 is wrong, and statement 2 is correct but omitted.
With reference to the Great Nicobar project, consider the following statements:
1. It envisages a transshipment port, an international airport, a power plant and a township on Great Nicobar Island.
2. Concerns raised about it include the rights of the Shompen and Nicobarese communities and the ecological vulnerability of the island.
3. The island hosts one of the most significant nesting sites of the olive ridley turtle in the North Eastern Indian Ocean.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer: (b)
The project combines a transshipment port, airport, power plant and township.
Concerns include indigenous rights (Shompen and Nicobarese) and ecological vulnerability.
The nesting site of significance is for the leatherback sea turtle, not the olive ridley, so statement 3 is wrong.
a Statement 3 is incorrect because the species is the leatherback.
c Statement 2 is correct, so excluding it is wrong, and statement 3 is incorrect.
d Statement 3 wrongly names the olive ridley; the species is the leatherback.
With reference to the Improved Low Level Light Weight Radar (LLLR-I) recently contracted by the Ministry of Defence, consider the following statements:
1. It can detect and track fighter-size targets as well as mini/micro drones.
2. It has the additional capability of prioritizing aerial targets.
3. The contract for its procurement has been signed with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer: (a)
The LLLR-I can detect and track fighter-size targets and mini/micro drones, and can prioritize aerial targets, so statements 1 and 2 are correct.
The contract was signed with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), not Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, so statement 3 is wrong.
b Statement 3 is wrong because the contract is with BEL, and statement 1 is correct but left out.
c Statement 2 is also correct, since the radar can prioritize aerial targets.
d Statement 3 is wrong because the vendor is BEL, not HAL.
With reference to the World Health Organization's recent study on inequality in non-communicable diseases (NCDs), consider the following statements:
1. It examined cancer, cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes as the four leading NCD killers.
2. It found that men with hypertension are diagnosed and treated more frequently than women.
3. It recommended higher health-related taxes on tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer: (d)
The study covered the four top NCD killers: cancer, cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes.
It found men with hypertension are diagnosed and treated less frequently than women, so statement 2 is reversed.
WHO urged governments to raise health taxes on tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks, which are particularly effective among low-income populations.
a Omits statement 3, which is correct since WHO urged higher health taxes.
b Statement 2 is wrong because the gender finding is reversed.
c Statement 2 is wrong because men are diagnosed and treated less often than women.
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